Pikachu let out an involuntary grunt, taking two steps back as she momentarily struggled to catch her breath.
Baiduren had no intention of giving up this opportunity.
He lunged forward and delivered several more straight punches to Pikachu’s weak spots, forcing her to retreat repeatedly.
Although it seemed that Baiduren had the upper hand…
That wasn’t actually the case.
He had to kill Pikachu within the remaining six minutes!
He was strong, no doubt, but Pikachu’s physique was formidable—even tougher than Shenwu Emperor’s.
After taking a few punches, she was only momentarily winded, with sharp pain in her vital points.
But she hadn’t even been injured to any real extent.
Baiduren realized that if he kept this up, it would take half an hour just to wear Pikachu down.
So, seizing the moment when she was still reeling from the pain and unable to counter, he shouted, “Unrivaled! Hit her in the head with the shovel from behind!!!”
Though Pikachu was struggling to breathe, she wasn’t deaf.
Sensing the danger, she let out a roar, “Ah!!!!”
A roar wouldn’t boost her combat strength, but it stirred her fighting spirit and bolstered her resolve.
She felt revitalized and instinctively turned around.
But where was Unrivaled?
It turned out that during the fight between Baiduren and Pikachu, Unrivaled had already gotten up and slipped away!
Even that fall he took—was it real or fake?
Baiduren had shouted simply to divert Pikachu’s attention!
However, Pikachu had anticipated this outcome.
She had been keeping an eye on Baiduren from the corner of her eye.
As he threw another punch aimed at her ribs, she suddenly swung a heavy fist at his arm!
Pikachu’s raw strength was already terrifying, and with the card effect boosting her, her power had doubled.
If that punch landed, it would definitely cripple Baiduren’s arm!
The remaining players were, one and all, insignificant in combat.
With only four minutes left, it was practically a guaranteed victory!
So Pikachu put all her strength into that punch, moving as fast as she could.
Would Baiduren get hit?
Crack!
The sound of a bone breaking echoed in both their ears.
Baiduren’s left arm was indeed struck by Pikachu’s fist, bending at an unnatural angle—undoubtedly broken.
Pikachu’s eyes gleamed with wild joy.
She was about to throw another punch to beat Baiduren to death.
But…
Even though Baiduren’s left arm was completely wrecked, he didn’t so much as grunt, as if he had expected this outcome all along.
His eyes were fixed entirely on Pikachu.
He lowered his center of gravity and moved even faster than before, dodging her second punch and closing in.
A silver light flashed in his right hand, and suddenly a silver dagger covered in barbs appeared, thrusting straight toward Pikachu’s heart.
‘Thorn Dagger’
‘Grade: SR’
‘Card Effect: A single thorn dagger.’
‘Card Description: Made from extraterrestrial materials of unknown technology not yet developed on Earth. It cuts through iron like mud, and with its numerous barbs, it can drain the victim’s blood clean no matter where it’s stabbed! Of course, it also has a fatal flaw: it’s restricted for use in most games and time periods. Might be a dead card!’
Although the description suggested it might be a dead card,
Clearly, during the Punishment Phase, this was no dead card!
It was an incredibly sharp blade!
“Thump—!”
“Bang!”
In that moment, Baiduren’s hidden strength finally erupted fully.
He had calculated everything—even sacrificing an arm to catch Pikachu off guard and deliver a fatal blow!
The instant the Thorn Dagger pierced Pikachu’s chest, a muffled gunshot echoed in the night sky.
Startled, birds scattered in all directions, disappearing above the blood-stained village.
***
The instant the gunshot rang out, Baiduren instinctively dodged to the side of Pikachu, thrusting the Thorn Dagger seven more times in quick succession.
Blood splattered across his face.
As Pikachu roared and tried to punch his head off, he leaped out of her attack range and instinctively looked at Yi Mo.
Yes, just now—
There had been a gunshot!
But Baiduren saw something completely unexpected.
Shiba Daye’s hunting rifle had fallen five meters away from him.
The hand that had been holding the rifle was now stained with blood, a small hole in its center gushing blood with a “whoosh” sound.
Drops of blood trickled from his fingertips to the ground.
And Shiba Daye wasn’t looking toward Cupid.
Instead, he was staring fixedly at the one who had injured him!
“Why.”
His tone was icy.
He was questioning the shooter!
That shooter was the Ordinary Girl Village Chief!
Her face was even darker than Yi Mo’s, and sparks of fury seemed to flash in her eyes.
In her hand was a small pistol with a plastic shell—the transparent plastic revealed that the main components inside were metal.
This tiny pistol, which had blown a hole through Yi Mo’s palm, looked just like a toy!
At that moment,
If observed closely,
One would notice that inside the left pupil of the Ordinary Girl Village Chief, a series of characters were quickly scrolling, and the pattern resembling a sniper scope’s reticle was slowly fading.
“You, you want to get everyone killed?!!!”
“You were really going to shoot Baiduren?!!!”
“Heh… heh…”
“Unreasonable. Incomprehensible!”
The Ordinary Girl Village Chief’s expression was terrifying.
Her breathing grew heavy.
She put the transparent plastic-shelled pistol into her pocket,
and glanced at the dying Pikachu.
Without another word, she strode away.
But after she had gone far, nearly vanishing from everyone’s sight, she muttered under her breath,
“Because of you… I lost 1,670 points…”
“Heh… heheh…”
“Shiba Daye…”
“Shiba Daye…!”
“We’re not done!!!”
The scene kept changing.
Taoqimao had cried so hard that her face was a mess, her voice choked.
But at this moment, no one had the heart to comfort her.
Dieyu’s face was also pale.
A flicker of ruthlessness passed through her eyes as she looked at Pikachu, who was losing the signs of life, and then at Yi Mo, who was staring at the ground, letting blood from his hand drip continuously, ignoring the wound.
She couldn’t help but walk toward him and said, “Shiba Daye…”
But before she could finish, Yi Mo cut her off with a cold, inhuman voice: “Stay away from me!”
Dieyu flinched in fright, her shoulders drawing back.
She bit her lip, and looked at him with a complicated expression.
Finally, she sighed and said, “Get some good rest tonight.”
Then, without regard for anyone else, she left.
With the Ordinary Girl Village Chief and Dieyu having left,
Baiduren looked in the direction the Village Chief had gone, helped Cthulhu, who was lying on the ground, to his feet, and supported him as they left.
The system had already announced that the Judgement Phase was over.
That meant Pikachu was dead.
Yi Mo paid no attention to the wound on his left hand, nor to the hunting rifle lying on the ground.
Gritting his teeth against the searing pain, he dragged his exhausted body—after a long day of work—step by step toward Pikachu.
Drops of blood stained the earth, a shocking sight.
Yi Mo reached Pikachu’s side and crouched down.
Looking at her eyes, still open in death, his gaze softened considerably.
“In this game, the only one who stood by me from start to finish was you.”
“Sorry…”
“I couldn’t… protect you…”
Yi Mo knelt down and, with his uninjured left hand, brushed across Pikachu’s chubby face, gently closing her wide, lifeless eyes.
Rumble—!
At that moment, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating Yi Mo’s figure in a ghastly white.
A heavy downpour began to pour.
Raindrops pelted Yi Mo’s body, and Pikachu’s corpse.
Blood and rainwater mingled into one.
Just half a day ago, the two of them had been foolishly hauling the bodies of those who had died in the previous two days to the Back Hill Cemetery for burial.
But now, they were separated by life and death.
Pitter-patter… pitter-patter…
The rain kept pouring down on Yi Mo, making his body even colder, but it couldn’t compare to the chill in his heart.
He couldn’t even manage to bury Pikachu.
He felt so helpless.
Betrayed by all.
In this game, no one was on his side anymore.
“Aiyo, Brother Shiba Daye! This rain is too heavy!”
“You can’t just keep soaking like this!!!”
“Come on, those bitches have turned against you—there’s nothing you can do!”
“It’s so infuriating! What cards did they draw? Are they all werewolves?!!!”
At this moment, the only one still there was Unrivaled, who had been the most hostile toward Yi Mo from the start.
He was also drenched, looking like a drowned rat.
He had picked up Yi Mo’s hunting rifle and was constantly stamping his feet, trying to shield his head with both hands,
but it was futile.
He earnestly urged Yi Mo.
“Big Brother, here’s your gun. You’re the Hunter—you can’t be without your gun!”